"Lost" Dongguan: The difficult transition of electronic manufacturing

"The ' Dongguan traffic jam, global shortage ' concept is now rarely mentioned. February 10, Lin, a professor at Sun Yat-sen University and Dongguan, told reporters that the electronic information manufacturing industry, the pillar industries in Dongguan, has been a difficult time since the 2008 financial crisis. 2013, Dongguan city GDP of about 550 billion yuan, growth of 9.7%, higher than Guangdong province and the national average level, a change of four years before the target task, the growth rate ranked Guangdong bottom of the dilemma. But in Lin's view, Dongguan's GDP growth is largely due to infrastructure investment and major projects driven by the electronic information manufacturing industry, the pull effect is limited, especially in the main processing industry has not changed downward momentum, industrial transformation and upgrading is facing challenges. "There is not much demand for job-seeking technicians, mainly worker."　Lin said that according to its information from the talent recruitment market in Dongguan, enterprises will encounter labor shortage, and sometimes raise wages to 3000 yuan, or not to people. Golden time no longer "the decline of electronic manufacturing industry is brutal, but all aspects of the situation is changing, it is difficult to avoid." "Lin that from the 1997 Asian financial crisis to the 2008 global financial crisis, it is the golden time of Dongguan Electronics manufacturing, many enterprises to make money, Dongguan has become the global IT industry processing and manufacturing base." Dongguan electronic information industry to computer products and accessories most prominent, the city's complete computer matching rate reached more than 95%, electronic information industry nearly all over the city more than 30 town street, including Shilong, Shek Jie, Changan, Liao BU, tangxia, Qingxi, Huangjiang and other towns are most famous. For example, the former mobile phone giant Nokia, Dongguan factory is one of its major global production base, facing China and overseas market production of functional machines. Even though Nokia has long since been evicted from the throne of the mobile phone industry, there are still more than 5,000 employees in 2013. Lin said that more than 70% of Dongguan Electronics manufacturing is at both ends of the processing and manufacturing, although the product quality is good, but in the industrial chain status belongs to the "Sandwich Biscuit", 2008 after the global financial crisis, external demand atrophy, orders are affected, some small and medium-sized enterprises have closed down. "You pay attention to some town street in Dongguan for rent advertising, there are a lot of factories are not rented out of the situation." "Lin said. The income of many village groups in Dongguan depends mainly on the sale of land and the rental of factories, houses and shops. After the manufacturing slump, the income of rent-collecting is greatly reduced, and the function of hematopoiesis is poor, so in the 2012, some village groups in Dongguan received no credit, and the situation of debt dividend had aroused the attention and worry of the outside world. The dilemma of reliance on external demand for the electronics manufacturing industry in Dongguan since the 2008 financial crisis, and in subsequent years there has been no significant improvement in the signs. "Despite the jittery of the 2008 global financial crisis, the severity of the foreign trade situation has not lasted long," he said. "Sound Yang Electronic Hardware Co., Ltd. Ongjian in early 2012 to be interviewed by reporters sigh, from the second half of 2011 began a new round of orders shortage, the situation is even more serious." Sound-positive electronic export products are mainly mini radios, factories in Dongguan Fenggang, set up in ShenzhenThere are offices, the annual output value of about 10 million U.S. dollars, the main export market is Europe and America. Ongjian said that at that time not only the sharp decline in orders, customers in order to reduce inventory needs, but also inclined to split, "the situation than 2008 more Trouble", the company can only reduce production capacity, and many smaller factories have to simply stop production. For the current survival of the electronics industry in Dongguan, Ongjian received a reporter's advice on February 10, the telephone was unwilling to talk more. Foreign trade trading platform a Xiaofeng deputy general manager of the interview, said that Dongguan's export manufacturing problems in addition to shrinking orders, the more painful is the problem of profitability. Profit margins have been falling as a result of increased costs such as land, labor, and domestic and foreign regional competition. Xiaofeng said that at present, small and medium-sized enterprises generally trade in the gross margin of 20% or so, individual industries may be higher, but some of the competition is only more than 10 points, if the various costs taken into account, can survive on the good, "even if there are orders, do not make money or the same finished." According to a report issued by the SME index, the 1-4 quarter of 2013, Dongguan SME export trade total year-on-year growth rate of 2.39%, 6.06%, 11.89%, 10.3%, the year 8.01%. The electronics industry is a high concentration of the Pearl River delta industry, including Dongguan, the supporting and industrial pattern has been very mature for many years. Zheng, a senior analyst, said, but from the export data, the overall decline of the industry is inevitable, industrial development brought about by the gradual lack of technological advantages is the main reason, price competition has become the industry, the mainstream of foreign trade. Of course, Xiaofeng that this is not only in the electronics manufacturing industry in Dongguan, the whole China's export-oriented industries are facing this embarrassment. Lin to reporters that, in addition to two outside the processing industry, Dongguan left less than 30% of the proportion of independent electronic information manufacturing industry is also not optimistic, "this part of the main problem is the lack of independent brands, did not enjoy these years to promote domestic demand for the development of the dividend." The choice of transformation "Dongguan, despite the emergence of a step-by-step high, oppo, such as a certain scale and visibility of the electronic brand, but relative to the entire industry, the impact is still small, such a number of enterprises are not many." "Lin said. As for the 2013 reversal of GDP in Dongguan, Lin that the main reason is the investment in large infrastructure projects, which is reflected in the electricity consumption data. According to the data disclosed by the Dongguan concerned, 2013, the city-scale industry above the increase of 212 billion yuan, an increase of 11.5%, the growth rate increased by 5.9% than the previous year. According to the data disclosed by the Dongguan Statistical Survey Information Network, 2013 1-November, Dongguan size above the industrial growth rate increased by 11.3%, at the same time, industrial production above the scale of electricity consumption growth is only 3.7%. Lin to reporters, Dongguan electronics manufacturing industry in recent years also in the exploration of transformation and upgrading, but he thought the effect remains to be seen. "Early last year, Dongguan related governmentGovernment department was very keen on 3D printing. Lin said that at that time the concept of 3D printing in the world is very hot, Dongguan want to support the development of this new industry, and from the choice of several enterprises to focus on development, "there are 3 of them want to do, very interested, but from the present point of view is nothing." Lin that, although the size of the electronic manufacturing industry in Dongguan is very large, but the long-term processing and manufacturing industry structure determines its demand for technicians is not too high, the lack of industrial restructuring needs of talent. In 2013, after printing the Dongguan into the government work report, in 2014, the Robot (59.100, 0.10, 0.17%) was written into the report, proposing to "nurture and develop the robotics industry". Can you do it with Foxconn? Lin said that Dongguan's idea of targeting the robotics industry came from Foxconn (Foxconn's helm, Terry Gou, who had proposed the million-robot program), and from the industrial logic, mainly based on the difficulties faced by Dongguan's manufacturing industry in recent years, such as the difficulty of hiring and rising labor costs. Hope to have the opportunity to use a robot instead. Lin that this theoretical assumption can find out how much real market demand is still an unknown, "the robot's one-time investment is very large, manufacturing enterprises can have much willingness to invest, the development of the industry to be clear to whom to sell the problem." However, Shenzhen PCB Industry Association president Xing to reporters that in the processing manufacturing industry due to a variety of cost factors rise in the plight of the enterprise itself is also actively seeking transformation, Songshan Lake Science and Technology Industrial park has attracted a lot of electronic manufacturing enterprises to settle in, "Our Association of enterprises in many downstream customers are settled there ”。